A NOTE ON BOOKBINDING 95

3rd. Books of temporary interest that need to be held
together and kept neat and tidy for occasional reference.

In other words, some books must be bound as well as
possible regardless of expense, some as cheaply as they
can be bound well, and others as well as they can be
bound cheaply. Re-binding a valuable old book is, at
the best, a regrettable necessity, and if its value is to be
preserved, the binder must take infinite pains with even'
detail. Such work should be done entirely by hand, and
the binding built up step by step on the book—'made to
measure5 as it were to suit the needs of the particular
volume. Work on which a binder is expected to exercise
thought and care on every point must take a long time
to do, and therefore must be costly. Cheap binding
must be done quickly, and to be done quickly it must be
treated 'in bulk' without much regard to the require-
ments of any one book. Up to a point there is no reason
why work done quickly should not be done well and
strongly, and such work will suit 90 per cent, of books.
It is die exceptional book that takes time to bind. The
thought that has to be expended on a single binding in
the one case, in the other case is given to the first model
only; leaving the actual workmen free to work more or
less mechanically on repetitions of a model with every
detail of which they are familiar.

To bind a crown 8vo book (7! in. by 5 in.} in full
sealskin or morocco of the best quality, carrying out the
'Society of Arts' Specification I, and doing the work
entirely by hand, and as well as it can be done, would
cost from 2 is. to 25$., with little or no decoration. If the
leaves needed special mending or any sizing or washing,
or if the cover were decorated with gold-tooling, the
cost would be a good deal heavier*

As this is too expensive for the binding of any books
but those of value or of special interest to their owners,